Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo has been ruled out of action for between 6-8 weeks after he broke his hand in a fall at home on Thursday.

The 28-year-old underwent surgery to repair the damage, with scans revealing he had fractured a left metacarpal as he slipped in the shower and ultimately landed awkwardly on his hand.

According to ESPN, Rondo will now miss the first 6-8 weeks of the NBA season which starts in late October, which leaves the Celtics without their first-choice point guard for the beginning of an important campaign.

Rookie Marcus Smart and Phil Pressey will now be expected to cover the loss but it remains to be seen how effective the pair can be for Boston’s play given their inexperience.

Nevertheless, it is an additional headache for both the Celtics and Rondo after dealing with a summer full of speculation over his future and whether or not he would remain with the franchise beyond this season.

Owner Wyc Grousbeck insisted on Tuesday that he wanted the point guard to stay long term, but then also caused controversy with earlier comments suggesting that Rondo was “stubborn” and questioned how coachable he was.

Meanwhile, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge was completely dismissive of talking about Rondo’s future yet again, and he questioned whether or not that topic really has to be brought up still.

However, it won’t matter for some time now as Rondo will face another significant spell on the sidelines after missing 95 games over the past two seasons.

Rondo sustained an ACL tear in January 2013, but after recovering and looking in good shape over the summer, this will undoubtedly be a huge blow for him as he looks ahead to becoming an unrestricted free agent next year.